It was found in the pyramid complex of Unas, the last king of the fifth dynasty, who reigned some 4,300 years ago.Īnother tomb belonged to Meri, who according to Hawass served as the pharaoh’s appointed “secret keeper”, a priestly title held by a senior palace official bestowing the power and authority to perform special religious rituals.Ī third tomb belonged to a priest in pharaoh Pepi I’s pyramid complex, and the fourth to a judge and writer named Fetek, Hawass added.įetek’s tomb included a collection of “the largest statues” ever found in the area, Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters.ĭown a 15-metre shaft, the expedition also found a large limestone sarcophagus that had remained sealed “just as the ancient Egyptians left it 4,300 years ago”, Hawass said. The largest tomb, “decorated with scenes of daily life,” belonged to a priest, inspector and supervisor of nobles named Khnumdjedef, said Hawass. The vast burial site at the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is home to more than a dozen pyramids, animal graves and old Coptic Christian monasteries.Īrchaeologist Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former antiquities minister, announced the latest discovery, dating from the fifth and sixth dynasties - around the 25th to the 22nd centuries BC - to reporters at the dig site. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.Egypt unveiled Thursday a gold-laced mummy and four tombs, including of an ancient king’s “secret keeper”, discovered in the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo. Mustafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Archeology, in a press release.Įxperts believe the real tongues of the dead were cut out during the embalming process and replaced with a piece of gold resembling the organ so that the deceased could speak to Osiris, the ancient Egyptian “Lord of the Underworld.” The bizarre finding was made when preserved corpses were unearthed at the Quweisna necropolis in the central Nile Delta, about 40 miles north of Cairo, dating between 300 BCE and 640 BCE.Įxperts investigating tombs at the site found several mummies with gold chips shaped like human tongues in their mouths, said Dr. Iconic Pennsylvania mummy ‘Stoneman Willie’ to be buried and publicly identified after 128 years on displayĮight mummies and pre-Inca objects - including opium pipes -uncovered by gas workers in PeruĪrchaeologists in Egypt have uncovered several ancient mummies with solid-gold tongues in their mouths. Mummified Pennsylvania man ‘Stoneman Willie’ ID’d, buried after 128 years on display

Top archaeologist reveals real reason behind ‘curse of the pharaohs’

Egypt mummy gold